Afternoon Light

How did a play help to transform child custody laws?

On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Wendy Michaels OAM to tell the story of conservative feminist trailblazer Millicent Preston Stanley MP. A tireless campaigner for both Australian liberalism and women's rights, who weaved a remarkable career as an activist, parliamentarian, journalist, performer and even playwright.

Dr Wendy Michaels OAM has had a distinguished career as an academic, educator, consultant, writer, and festival director. Before her retirement she was a lecturer in the School of Humanities at the University of Newcastle. Wendy’s awards include an Order of Australia Medal for services to women and to the dramatic arts, a National Council of Women Award for Promoting the Status of Women, a JEDA Award for Drama Writing, Honorary Life Membership of Drama NSW for service to Drama in Education, and the Minister for Education Award for Excellence in Tertiary Teaching. She has published poetry, plays and stories for children and numerous articles and books. Her latest is A Battle-axe in the Bear Pit: Millicent Preston Stanley MP.

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Why does the term 'liberal' mean such vastly different things in Australia and America?

On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Greg Melleuish to discuss the evolution of political terms. With phrases like 'progress' and 'social justice' meaning vastly different things to different people, and leaving us susceptible to imposing our modern values in misinterpreting texts from the past

Greg Melleuish is a professorial fellow of the Robert Menzies Institute. Before his recent retirement, he was a professor in the School of Humanities and Social Inquiry at the University of Wollongong, where he taught, among other things, Australian politics. He has written widely on Australian political thought, including Cultural Liberalism in Australia (Cambridge University Press, 1995) and Despotic State or Free Individual (Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2014).

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Why do people think that Australian history is boring & what can we do to change that?

On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with David Hunt, author of the award-winning Girt series, to reveal some of the funnier facts of Australian history and explore how we can get more people to engage with it.

David Hunt is a bestselling author, historian, satirist, television presenter, podcaster and speaker. His first book with Black Inc., Girt won Nonfiction Book of the Year in the 2014 Indie Awards, and was shortlisted for an Australian Book Industry Award and NSW Premier’s Literary Award. The sequel, True Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia Volume 2, continued David’s career as Australia’s most successful writer whose titles all include the word girt and whose book covers gratuitously depict Australian historical figures being crapped on by native birds. Girt Nation, the third volume of The Unauthorised History of Australia, hit the shelves in November 2021.

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Why would Australians enlist to fight in a civil war on the far side of the world?

On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Michael Samaras to tell the story of Jim McNeill and his personal crusade against fascism. A fight that led him to defy the Australian government, stowing away on a ship to reach the bloody battlefields of the Spanish Civil War.

Michael Samaras is a Sydney-based researcher and writer. In 2022 he uncovered the Nazi past of the founding benefactor of the Wollongong Art Gallery, winning the Local History Prize for his essay Discovering A Secret Nazi: Bob Sredersas And The Gift. He is a former Wollongong Councillor who has worked as a political staffer with the Australian Labor Party. His first book is Anti-Fascists: Jim McNeill and his mates in the Spanish Civil War.

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What kind of country doesn't remember the name of its first prime minister?

On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Professor David Headon AM to reveal the fascinating story of Sir Edmund Barton. The cricket-mad 'tosspot' who found the vision and drive to spearhead Australia's federation movement.

Dr David Headon is a cultural consultant and historian. Formerly Director of the Centre for Australian Cultural Studies, Cultural Adviser to the National Capital Authority and History and Heritage Adviser for the Centenary of Canberra, he is now a Foundation Fellow at the Australian Studies Institute (ANU), a Parliamentary Library Associate and the Canberra Raiders club historian. He is currently overseeing the First Eight Project, which aims to enliven interest in our nation’s earliest political leaders.

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How can Australia see off the threats posed by an increasingly unstable world?

On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Sir Peter Cosgrove for a wide-ranging interview covering his own personal experience in the ADF, reflections on Australia's Vietnam War commitment, and a call to action on the pressing need to invest in our military preparedness.

Born into an Army family, Sir Peter Cosgrove attended Waverley College in Sydney before graduating from the Royal Military College Duntroon in 1968. His first deployment was in Malaysia with the 1st Battalion RAR and later in Vietnam he commanded an infantry platoon. He served as Commander of INTERFET in East Timor in 1999 overseeing that country’s transition to independence. Then promoted to Chief of Army and later Chief of the Australian Defence Force. He retired from the ADF in 2005 serving on several boards before becoming a Knight in the Order of Australia when sworn in as Governor-General in 2014 and serving until June 2019.

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How can a monument encapsulate the loss of 60,000 young men?

On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Katti Williams to explore the design process that produced Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance. Undoubtedly one of Australia's most iconic monuments and a haunting tribute to those that paid the ultimate sacrifice in the defence of our nation.

Katti Williams is a Postdoctoral Research fellow in Australian architectural history, in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning. Her PhD thesis, completed in 2017 at the University of Melbourne, comprised the first sustained academic study of the Australian early twentieth-century architect William Lucas, with a specific focus on his unbuilt designs for First World War memorials. Her research is a nexus between art, architectural, military, and cultural histories.

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Why did a critic of the Boer War double down on Australia's commitment to its bloody successor?

On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with David Day to discuss one of our most important but forgotten nation builders, Andrew Fisher. Who rose from the coal mines of Scotland to become Australia's fifth prime minister. But whose legacy is inextricably linked to the Australian lives lost during World War I.

David Day is an Australian historian and author. Day has written widely on Australian history and the history of the Second World War. Among his many books are Menzies and Churchill at War and a two volume study of Anglo-Australian relations during the Second World War. His prize-winning history of Australia, Claiming a Continent, won the prestigious non-fiction prize in the 1998 South Australian Festival Awards for Literature. An earlier book, Smugglers and Sailors, was shortlisted by the Fellowship of Australian Writers for its Book of the Year Award. John Curtin: A Life was shortlisted for the 2000 NSW Premier's Literary Awards' Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction. He is the author of Andrew Fisher: Prime Minister of Australia.

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How did Menzies's Liberal Party end up with the lowest primary vote in its 80-year history?

On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with John Roskam and Zachary Gorman to dissect the recent election, apply some historical context to the results, and ask 'where to now?' for Australian liberalism.

John Roskam is a columnist for The Australian Financial Review and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs. Zachary Gorman is the Historian and Research Manager of the Robert Menzies Institute.

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How did Robert Menzies sell his message as Opposition Leader?

On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Bob Crawshaw about how Chifley and Menzies's epic clash over bank nationalisation reshaped Australia's political communications landscape. As innovative marketing techniques first defeated the policy then helped to sweep the Liberals into power in 1949.

Bob Crawshaw began his career during the Vietnam era, serving in the Australian Army for over 30 years as a commander, trainer, long-range planner and diplomat. As the first Director of Army Public Affairs, he gained unique insights into how governments try to shape public opinion and how communities push back to influence those in power. After leaving the Army, Bob established a public relations agency, using his experience to help governments and community organisations effectively promote their ideas. His work received Australian and international recognition. In recent times, Bob has focused on uncovering the stories behind the advertising and public relations campaigns that shaped Australia. Inspired by the passion and larger-than-life personalities involved in the bank nationalisation episode, he authored Battle of the Banks, a compelling exploration of how bold communications can either defeat big plans or make them a reality.

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